black bear meat prep

[olympia]

how do you guys like your black bear meat? do you get it jerkied? get the butcher to kind make a ham out of it? pepperoni? i cant wait to finally snag one this year, last year i only had time to make it out in the bush in mid april and i saw on sign, this year i will wait until about may 5 to head out

[Sitkaspruce]

Roast, steaks, and the rest into sausages and pepperoni, bear is great meat as long as it is not a fish bear. Had the hams smoked a couple times, but prefere the sausages and pepperoni.

Anytime after the last week of April is a good time, judge it on what the spring is like, if it is warm early, then bears will be out as the grass will green up on the south facing slopes first.

Good luck

Cheers

SS

[Steeleco]

I treat my bear like any other game, steaks, roast and burger. If I make sausage it's usually a blend of a few animals. Once it's seasoned you can tell what it once was anyhow!!

[TheProvider]

Treat it the same as other meat. Favorite game meat. Roasts, steaks and sausage/pepperoni

[The Dude]

Like SS said, if it's eating fish, or anywhere near a dump, let it walk. Bears more than any animal i know, seem to absorb and reflect every little thing they eat.
I once made a bear roast that stunk up the house so bad the dog wouldn't eat it. Yup, fish bear, fulla chum.
Some of the best meat i ever had was a young fella that was full of apples out of an orchard.

[outdoorsk]

I get smoked hams and the rest sausage/pepperoni.

[Rhyno]

All goes into pepperoni, salami, and/or smokies. One bear didn't last us very long though, the kids couldn't get enough! Good luck.

[r106]

My last bear was made into peperoni

[Jim Prawn]

Hoping to get Riley James on a spring bear this year, if we can get out between Lacrosse games! I'm going to try and make some "corned bear" and can it. Thinking that would make for good sandwiches for trips. Otherwise, I have had good ham from spring bear and terrible meat from December Nitnat Salmon eating giant old bear - could hardly eat the pepperoni and the rest got converted into dungeness crab...
JP

[kyleklassen]

probably hasn't ever been a thread about this on thius forum ....so thanks for bringing it up......anybody know when the LEH is going to be out?

[kyleklassen]

Hoping to get Riley James on a spring bear this year, if we can get out between Lacrosse games! I'm going to try and make some "corned bear" and can it. Thinking that would make for good sandwiches for trips. Otherwise, I have had good ham from spring bear and terrible meat from December Nitnat Salmon eating giant old bear - could hardly eat the pepperoni and the rest got converted into dungeness crab...
JPwho the hell thought it would be a good idea to eat a december nitnat bear????we need names.!!

[Jim Prawn]

who the hell thought it would be a good idea to eat a december nitnat bear????we need names.!!

Didnt think it would be, just had to try out of "due dilligence". Shot him for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and for being too big. Field dressed 405 lbs and 19-3/4" noggin. Had a tag in his ear, contacted the warden and he had apparently been tranqued at the hatchery the year before and relocated to copper canyon. Shot him not far up Granite creek ML - he knew where the good eats were. Game warden's comment; "as far as I'm concerned, this is a success story."
JP

[Moose63]

Bear sausage, Hesitant at first, despite the nay sayers on bear meat., first time for me, and worked out fine,

[trykillthis]

I hamburger it all. Not into bear cuts, just a little 'beary' tasting for me. But is great for taco's, sauces and other stuff that is well seasoned. Makes good burgers and meatballs mixed 50-50 with pork.

[lockmancpl]

Re: black bear meat prep

Sausages, stewing cuts, hamburger, small roasts in that order. Not a fan of nitrates or preservatives, so I make my own fresh (then frozen) sausages and meat loaf. Mix with a little pork fat and binder as it is too dry a meat to use alone. Secret to cooking bear is low, slow and moist. Slow cooker or dutch oven roaster. My slow cooker on low is 182 degrees F. Prefect for cooking and destroying anything that is not supposed to in there. Eight or more hours in there and everything is pull apart tender. Barbeque pulled bear is to die for. Had both spring and fall bear, spring was easier to prep. Not a big fan of bear fat to eat, or leaving attached to meat in the freezer, seems to off flavor pretty fast. Good luck.

[HarryToolips]

Sausage......Are Griz edible?? or is the meat too tough??

[r106]

Sausage......Are Griz edible?? or is the meat too tough??

I have never tried it but I don't see why it wouldn't make okay peperoni or other sausage.

[Above the Treeline]

I pack the freezer with a spring black bear every year. I find the meat as good as any deer. Better than the rutting dear of November in my opinion.
As for what I get made from the meat I typically get a flavoured sausage meat without the casing to save some money. I also find that the sausage meat without the casing works well in sauces and other dishes that would typically take standard hamburger.

My fav for bear meat is maple breakfast sausage. Can't beat it! If you are hunting in or around the Cranbrook area try taking your bear to Kimberley Sausage and meats, they are not scared to process bear like some of the other local butcher shops.

[olympia]

i plan on seasoning my bear meat with either .303 brit 180 grain federal blue box or 7.62x54r mosin...still deciding